Efficient key control is important to the successful operation of many businesses. It is desirable that original and duplicate keys for doors, machinery, cabinetry and other apparatus be safely stored in and dispensed from a common storage point under the direct control of a limited group of supervisory personnel.
U.S Pat. No. 4,199,067, commonly assigned herewith, provides a key control system wherein a key rack is attached to the following block of a desk drawer or filing cabinet to conveniently arrange and securely store a plurality of office related keys in an orderly array. Since only one key rack can be attached to the following block of a desk or cabinet and since the key rack can manage only a specific number of keys, only a finite number of keys can be stored in a given drawer or cabinet.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a key control system which includes a key rack support frame adapted to support a plurality of key racks so as to accommodate a much greater number of keys.
One known desk-type key control system, adapted to handle a great number of office keys, includes an open-topped tray, sized and shaped to fit within a desk or file cabinet drawer, for loosely receiving thereinto a plurality of separate panels having rows of keys attached thereto, with each panel stacked or leaning against an adjacent panel. Such a system lacks definitive organization, permits keys to become dislocated due to manipulation of panels or relatively small forces applied to panels or tray, and requires lost time in refiling or reinstating loose keys in their correct sequence onto the individual panels.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a key control system which includes a key rack support frame having key-rack-receiving channels for securing a plurality of key racks in fixed, spaced, relationship to one another and which is sized and shaped to fit within a desk and file cabinet drawer.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a key control system wherein key racks, spacedly received in the key rack support frame channels, each may be raised, as desired, within the channels and pivoted to a self-locking, angled, easy-to-read position without disturbing adjacent key racks.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a desk-drawer-sized key control system, for storing key tags, out-key cards and other key-related paraphernalia, said system including pouched panels adapted to be received within the channels of the key rack support frame.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a key control system wherein the key racks are received in key rack support frame channels which channels and racks cooperate to prevent unintentional removal of the racks.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments.